In many networks a node will need to authenticate another node prior to communication taking place between the nodes. Such authentication, may take place by performing a full authentication exchange with a network entity such as an Authentication, Authorization, Accounting server (AAA server) or an Extensible Authentication protocol server (EAP server) that is aware of the node's rights with respect to network access. Such authentication can be done through a variety of methods and generally involves much messaging between the two nodes and the server.
When networks require mutual authentication (MA), each node must authenticate the other node prior to communication taking place. In other words, when a first node wishes to communicate with a second node, the first node must authenticate the second node, while the second node must similarly authenticate the first node. Because authentication methods generally involve many messages between the two nodes and the server, and because two nodes will have to authenticate each other when performing mutual authentication, mutual authentication requires extensive messaging between both nodes and the server. Because of this, a need exists for a method and apparatus for performing mutual authentication within a network that reduces the messaging between the two nodes.